this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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Late Stage Capitalism
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Colonizing other planets is way, way, way beyond our current abilities. It would be easier to colonize the ocean first, because at least that has water and a biosphere, or even Antarctica, because at least that has breathable air. Counting on flight to another planet is a bad idea: it's infinitely harder than fixing things at home.
I don't know where y'all get the idea that I want humans to escape from Earth. That would be incredibly stupid.
We need to go to space for resources to increase living standards at home and avoid further ecological destruction. For instance, the only good sources of helium-3 (an excellent fuel for fusion) is mining from the moon or gas collecting from gas giants. Nothing is alive in space, so there aren't downsides to mining there like there is on Earth. Socialism is also the only way to prevent space resources from only bulking Jeff Bezos' (or his childrens') pockets.
I, for one, do not think socialism means forever stalling at 2030s-era tech.
It's just a matter of priorities. In order to build a spaceship and get it out of the atmosphere, you have to do a colossal amount of ecological damage, which is the last thing we can afford right now. Space ships are made with lots of lithium and cobalt and fun stuff like that.
I'm not saying forever, I'm saying that we're in the ER for internal bleeding and you're talking about doing an operation to fix our scoliosis.